52. BHS Student Reporter Prepares to Interview Rihanna

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3 mins read
Barrington High School Reporter to Interview Rihanna

The level of excitement at Barrington High School is building as students anticipate Friday’s visit from music megastar, actress and fashion designer, Rihanna.  But one student reporter, in particular, is getting ready for what’s shaping up to be a major media moment in her life as she prepares to interview Rihanna, face-to-face.

Rihanna to Visit Barrington High School this Friday
Rihanna Photo Featured on Barrington 220 Website

Rihanna is dropping by to visit Barrington High School for an hour on Friday afternoon.  It’s the students’ first day of Spring Break and it’s happening just hours before Rihanna will take the stage for her Diamonds World Tour concert at the United Center in Chicago.

Rihanna "Diamonds" World Tour Stop in Chicago
Rihanna “Diamonds” World Tour

Barrington High School won the visit from Rihanna when a group of BHS-TV students entered and won a video contest, hosted at website, GoMoxie.org, and judged by Rihanna herself. The contest called for students to create a video with the theme of “giving back to your community (and world!)”.

3,000 tickets were made available for students and guests of the school district to be in the audience for Rihanna’s visit.  We’re told she plans to recognize the students who produced the 5-minute video (seen below), showcasing the many ways our High School students have raised over a million dollars for charity and edited with Rihanna’s song, Shine Bright Like a Diamond, in the background.

Screenshot from BHS-TV's "Shine Bright Like a Diamond" Rihanna Video
Screenshot from BHS-TV’s “Shine Bright Like a Diamond” Rihanna Video

But only one student will get to interview Rihanna, face-to-face, in front of the audience.  She’s 17-year-old BHS Junior, Catherine Goetze, the Head Reporter for BHS-TV who did the voice over for the winning video.

The Barrington 220 school district announced yesterday that, to keep the emphasis on the students, Rihanna’s management team will not allow the news media or photographers into the event.  So when it comes to that coveted in-person interview with Rihanna, Catherine Goetze is it!

Barrington High School Reporter to Interview Rihanna
BHS-TV Head Reporter, Catherine Goetze

I gave Catherine a call this week to find out how she’s preparing for her Rihanna interview and whether she’d share any of the questions she plans to ask her.  Catherine kept the specifics of her Q & A approach under wraps, but she did reveal a few secrets.  Here’s how Catherine answered my questions about Rihanna’s visit:

Liz:  How are you preparing for your time with Rihanna?

Catherine:  “Right now we’re working on how the event is going to lay out from beginning to end, which will include recognition of the team that made the video.  A ton of hard work went into the production so the credit goes to the BHS-TV team, but the stars of the video are the charities we featured and they should get most of the emphasis.  At this time we’re still trying to nail down how long the Q & A with Rihanna will last.  It could be anywhere from five to twenty minutes.”

Liz:  What will your approach to the interview be?

Catherine:  “In addition to why she wanted to have this contest, I’d like to ask Rihanna about her singing career.  One of the cool things about her is that she’s had a very different life than a lot of students at Barrington High School.  When she was 16, she moved from her home in Barbados to pursue her singing career.  I’ve been doing my research and I’m trying to make the questions different from your average interview.  I’m trying to come up with questions that will lighten things.”

Liz:  Are you nervous?

Catherine:  “Right now, I’m super-super excited.  I feel like the nerves are probably going to set-in on Friday morning because that’s usually how it goes.  At the last minute, I get all shaky and nervous, but it’s going to be great!  It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  People tell me I should take advantage of it, have fun with it and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Liz:  I know you are considering a career in broadcast journalism or international relations.  How do you think this opportunity might help you down the road?

Catherine:  “I know how important networking is when it comes to having a career.  It’s cool for us to be getting this much coverage and to think that the opportunities I hoped to have in the future could be happening to me today, as a Junior in High School.  I feel very thankful for our BHS-TV team and for our community.”

Rihanna’s visit is a rare opportunity for all of Barrington High School to take the spotlight along with Catherine Goetze, the whole team behind the video and their teacher, Jeff Doles.  The BHS-TV team will be featured on Channel 5 NBC News this Wednesday (March 20) at 6:00 p.m. so be sure to tune in for the interview!

BHS Film Teacher, Jeff Doles, with Leonard's Lament Production Team
BHS Film Teacher, Jeff Doles, with Rihanna “Shine Bright Like a Diamond” Video Team

The crew here at 365Barrington.com will be wishing you lots of fun and excitement during Rihanna’s visit on Friday, BHS!  And we will be sure to share what we learn about Rihanna’s visit right after it happens.  To watch for updates and reaction from BHS-TV, CLICK HERE to follow their page on Facebook.

In the meantime, in case you haven’t already seen the students’ video, with over 15,000 hits on YouTube, here it is as edited by students Peter Chung, Brian Keller, Ashika Sachdev, Ariana Baldassano, Chris Tesseralo, Cathterine Goetze, and Tommy Lekai under the guidance of BHS-TV teacher, Jeff Doles.

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